Public(ation) Domain
The law firm of Holland and Knight offers sound advice to the likes of us in a memo entitled “Bloggers Beware: Florida’s Long-Arm Statute Reaches Nonresidents Who Post Material Online.” Authors Judith M. “Judy” Mercier and Gennifer B. Powell explain that “a person does not have to be physically present in Florida to commit a tortious act in the state.”
They say that though Florida law requires proof of publication within the Sunshine State itself, the Florida Supreme Court said in a recent case (involving a blogger from Washington State – gulp!) that “someone posting material online directs the communication to potential readers within Florida because the poster makes the information available everywhere.”
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